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The Definitive Sea Serpent

Are there still large unknown animals roaming[1] the oceans of the world? The average zoologist would say "probably not." But two particular zoologists, were they still with us, would emphatically disagree. In 1905, Michael J. Nicoll and E. G. B. Meade-Waldo observed a "sea monster" which has never been caught, classified, or explained.

1. The Sighting On December 7, 1905, at 10:15 AM, two British naturalists, Nicoll and Meade-Waldo, were on a research cruise[2] aboard the yacht Valhalla. Fifteen miles east of the mouth of Brazil's Parahiba River, Nicoll spotted a large dorsal fin which "resembled that of no fish I had previously seen."

Nicoll turned to his companion and asked, "Is that the fin of a great fish?" Meade-Waldo looked. The fin was cruising past them about a hundred yards from the yacht. Meade-Waldo described it as "dark seaweed-brown, somewhat crinkled at the edge."

Meade-Waldo turned his binoculars on the object, and immediately a head on a long neck rose from the water. He estimated the neck was "about the thickness of a slight[3] man's body, and from 7 to 8 feet was out of the water; head and neck were all about the same thickness."

"The head had a very turtle-like appearance, as also the eye," Meade-Waldo wrote of the incident. "It moved its head and neck from side to side in a peculiar manner: the color of the head and neck was dark brown above, and whitish below-almost white, I think."

The original sighting lasted for several minutes. It then disappeared. The Valhalla could not come about to pursue. At 2:00 AM on December 8th, however, three crewmembers saw what appeared to be the same animal, almost entirely submerged, and passing the Valhalla at a speed of about nine knots[4].

So what did the witnesses see?

 

(to be continued...)

    


注释：

 

1. roam：
漫游，闲逛。"情侣在田间漫步，全然忘却了时间。"可以这样描述：The lovers roamed around /over the fields in complete forgefulness of the time.

 

2. curise：
巡航；巡弋。当作名词用时有几个常用词组，比如：go on/ take a cruise进行巡逻。cruise missile巡航导弹。

 

3. slight：
在本文中是指"纤细的、苗条的、瘦小的"。比如：The wind seemed about to lift her slight body. 风似乎要把她纤弱的身体吹得飘起来。它还能表示"轻蔑的"，比如：make slight of轻视。

 

4. knot：
是一个航海术语，表示"海里/每小时"。比如：She can do 35 knots.那艘船时速35海里。

 
 
 

 

出没于巴西海域的海怪--"海蛇"

大洋深处是否还生活着我们并不知晓的巨型生物？动物学家一般都会这样回答："可能没有吧。"然而Michael J. Nicoll和E. G. B. Meade-Waldo这两位动物学家（至今仍在世）对此不敢苟同。他们曾在1905年亲眼目睹过一只海上巨兽，直到如今，都还没有人捕到过它，也无人专门对它进行分类研究。

1．亲眼目睹 1905年11月7日上午10:15，两位来自英国的自然爱好者，Nicoll 和Meade-Waldo驾驶一艘名为Valhalla的小艇进行巡航观察。在巴西Parahiba河口以东15英里处，Nicoll发现一个巨大的动物背鳍浮出水面，"我以前从来没见过一种那样的鱼。"

Nicoll转身问同伴："那大鱼的背鳍吗？"Meade-Waldo朝同一方向望去。只见这只怪物从距离小艇百码远的地方穿梭而去。Meade-Waldo这样描述道"它的身体呈海草般深褐色，边缘处似乎还有点摺皱"。

Meade-Waldo举起望远镜注视着它。不久，它便伸着长长的脖子探出水面。Meade-Waldo约摸估算了一下，它的脖子有"一个瘦削男人身体那么粗，其中七八英尺长的部分都露出了水面，它的头与脖子一般粗细。"

"它的脑袋长得象海龟，哦，连眼睛都象，"Meade-Waldo记录了这一事件。"它的脖子和脑袋左右怪异地晃动着。头与颈的上部分呈深褐色，而下部分则呈白色，我觉得差不多是全白色。"

整个目击事件持续了几分钟，就消失了。Valhalla还来不及转舵去赶上它。然而，12月8日凌晨2：00，另外三名船员再次看见它。这回，这只怪物几乎完全潜入水中，以每小时9哩的速度超过Valhalla，然后扬长而去。知道他们看见的是什么怪物呢？

 

（待续……）